By Chris Oddo | Sunday May 21, 2017
Generation next is generation now, and Alexander Zverev surely can wow.
The 20-year-old German, cool as a cucumber and fiery as a the Tuscan sun, waltzed past four-time Internazionali BNL d’Italia champion Novak Djokovic on Sunday to become the youngest Masters 1000 champion in over a decade.
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The last player younger to achieve the feat was Djokovic himself in 2007. The Serb, then 19, did so in a year that saw him reach his first major final at the U.S. Open and claim his first major title at the Australian Open in January of the very next year. There are no guarantees that the 6’6” Zverev will follow a similar trajectory, but he’s been tabbed as a future No.1 for well over a year now and that clamor will only grow louder now that he’s broken through on one of tennis’ biggest stages against one of the game’s all-time greats.
“I think today was one of the best matches I ever played,” Zverev said after the last ball was struck on Sunday. “I knew I had to be aggressive from the first point to the last. It was very important for me to be able to stay this aggressive and not let him take over the game.”
In his first career meeting with Djokovic the Hamburg native was on the attack from the onset, and he kept Djokovic on his back foot and never took his foot off the accelerator. Djokovic, who finished off a rain-delayed quarterfinal victory over Juan Martin del Potro on Saturday before absolutely tattooing Dominic Thiem in straight sets in the semifinal, did not earn a single break point against Zverev over the course of the 81-minute encounter.
Remarkably, it was just the third time that the Serb did not manage a single break opportunity in his 95 career finals. The only other player to befuddle the sublime Djokovic return game so definitively in a final? Roger Federer.
“He served very well,” Djokovic later lamented. “I just wasn't able to get any rhythm on my returns. If we would get into a rally, he would smash the ball from the first or second shot.
Djokovic, who fell to 20-6 on the season, had more praise for Zverev but also was quick to admit that he wasn’t at his best. Whether it was the two matches on Saturday, a mental letdown or the sturdiness of Zverev’s game was hard to say. But it was clear that Djokovic did not possess the same positive energy that he displayed while rummaging past Thiem, 6-1, 6-0.
On Saturday Djokovic routinely looked to his box, shooting them inspirational gestures; on Sunday, he looked dejectedly at his feet and occasionally to his box, but only to voice his frustration.
'He's making his mark already,” Djokovic said of Zverev. “He played great, served great. On the other hand, I mean, he didn't get much from my side. I played very poor today. Just couldn't find any rhythm.”
Full credit to Zverev, who never allowed Djokovic a free point or a moment to gather himself. He lost just nine points on serve overall, and made the most of his opportunities, breaking in the first game of the opening set and in the third game of the second set, and both times making the single break stand up, and he even added a second break in the second set to win going away.
It may have not been Djokovic’s finest final, but nevertheless there were ample opportunities for Zverev to let the pressure get to him and start to show cracks in his armor. These are the subtle moments in big matches that often lead to momentum changes—there were none on offer on this day.
Zverev will take his place in the ATP’s Top 10 on Monday when the new rankings are released, and though he’ll be the youngest to join that elite group since Juan Martin del Potro first cracked the Top 10 in October of 2008. He’ll also be the one with the most confidence and momentum as the road to Roland Garros bends to Paris.
For the better part of the last five years it has been Novak Djokovic’s world while others paid a premium just to live on the fringes, nibbling at whatever titles were available after Djokovic was done. Today it was the German’s day. He reigned over Rome with a performance that many believe is just the beginning.